Tuesday, July 1, 2014

Acts of Violence / Ross Harrison

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Author:

Ross Harrison has been writing since childhood without
thought of publication. When the idea was planted by his grandmother to do so,
it grew rapidly, and after a bumpy ten years or so, here sits the fruit.

Ross lives on the UK/Eire border in Ireland,
hoping the rain will help his hair grow back. More at Harrison’s website.

Description:

Jack Mason
is a private detective living in the city of Harem on a distant planet
somewhere in the universe. When a girl he hooked up with is brutally murdered
in his apartment, he’s pulled in by the cops and accused of the crime. The
story follows his exploits as he tries to prove his innocence.

Appraisal:

I selected the book because the
sample had a neat noir feel to it.
While I don’t read a lot of that genre, I do enjoy the smart wise-cracking
hero, and Jack Mason had a number of snappy retorts—the character admits that
his default setting is “sarcastic asshole.” Another cute one: when he’s asked,
“Can I take you coat, Jack?” he replies, “Why? Yours is so much nicer.” There
are plenty more.

Other than a smattering of off-world
technology, the book could have been set in any American suburban area—greasy-spoon
cafes, strip clubs, gritty bars and stiff drinks--not a lot of sci-fi at all. But,
for me, the sample flattered to deceive. There were a lot of gunfights—too many
IMO, and the level of detail they were described in created confusion—too many
stage directions, or at least more than needed. Jack always won out, despite
the odds against him, and after a few fights, the tension just wasn’t there.
Also, the stakes (he has to break up the local mafia) didn’t seem high enough.

Jack Mason was an interesting
character. The story had a nice twist in the tale. Overall I enjoyed the read.
If this is your genre, I suspect you’d get more from the story than I did.

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